FEBRUARY 2025
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Easier seed-sowing with seed snails
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Erica Browne Grivas
Get Growing
W
ith so many trends surfing by on our social media feeds these days, it’s difficult to tell what’s worth our attention. Last year, a particular new garden method caught my eye — and by the look of TikTok, I wasn’t alone. Innovation is always exciting, especially when it works. This new seed-sowing method, with the funny name of seed snails, was invented and introduced on social media by a UK gardener named Farida Sober (@ faridasober on Instagram). In many ways, it’s easier and more efficient than both indoor seedstarting and direct sowing. Seed snail-sowing (say that five times fast) looks as funny as it sounds, too. When I saw my first video, my jaw dropped. Sober cuts strips of polyethylene sheeting approximately 17” wide by 6” deep, lays them flat, tops them with potting soil (not seed starting mix), leaving some
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COURTESY ERICA BROWNE GRIVAS
The author sowed Zinnia 'Floret Precious Metals' in a seed snail June with great results. space on the sides and bottom, turns them upright and tapes the sides shut. Looking at the “snail” from the top, it looks like a cinnamon roll – that’s what I wish it was named – but so be it. She sows the seeds rather thickly in the soil on the top of
the cinnamon roll, choosing the appropriate depth for that type of seed. She stacks them upright in potting trays or cookie sheets, but you can also hold them in round plastic pots or collected in plastic storage tubs (more on that later).
Sober is growing in a greenhouse, but you can use this method indoors with grow lights or outside under proper weather conditions for the seeds you’re growing.
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King County and Seattle to use combined $134M to build 1,600 housing units
A MODRONA GEM
By Spencer Pauley The Center Square
King County and Seattle plan to use a combined $134 million to pay for the construction of 1,600 affordable homes. Seattle announced it is using $108 million toward affordable housing through its 2023 Housing Levy. The city anticipates the funds to create 655 affordable homes throughout Seattle. The Seattle Housing Levy’s tax rate is 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or $383 a year for the median Seattle homeowner. It is anticipated to collect $970 million through 2030, or $138.6 million annually. The city’s proposed One Seattle Comprehensive Plan increases zoning capacity to more than 330,000 new housing units, which more than doubles the city’s current housing capacity. The initial plan estimated that at least 112,000 new units of housing will be needed over the next 25 years.
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“By leveraging the voter-approved Housing Levy and working together with our community partners, we are creating affordable homes that will serve generations of Seattle residents,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a statement. “This is how we advance our One Seattle vision and ensure that everyone, regardless of income, has a
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